Monetary Statistics for December 2004

Press Releases

31 Jan 2005

Monetary Statistics for December 2004

According to statistics published today (Monday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions expanded further by 0.6% in December 2004. The increase was attributable to a 1.5% rise in Hong Kong dollar deposits, which exceeded a decline of 0.4% in foreign currency deposits. Within foreign currency deposits, renminbi deposits amounted to RMB12.1 billion yuan in December, compared with RMB10.6 billion yuan in November.

Total loans and advances were little changed in December, as a decline of 0.5% in loans for use in Hong Kong almost offset an increase of 3.6% in loans for use outside Hong Kong. Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar loans decreased while foreign currency loans recorded an increase. As Hong Kong dollar deposits increased but Hong Kong dollar loans declined, the loan-to-deposit ratio fell to 82.6% in December.

Analysed by economic uses, lending grew in most sectors on a quarter-on-quarter comparison. In particular, loans for building, construction, property development and investment, lending to financial concerns and manufacturing registered notable increases in the fourth quarter of 2004. On the other hand, transport-related loans decreased moderately during the quarter.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 declined by 0.7% in December but rose by 16.0% from a year ago. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both rose by 1.4% during the month, and by 4.8% and 4.6% respectively from a year earlier.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Kevin Ip, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 January 2005

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